As Apple Unveils iPhone 7, Consumers Await iPhone 8

Apple is unveiling the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus on Wednesday. But consumers are not too excited about the new iPhones. According to Reuters, the online chatter ahead of the iPhone 7 launch is much less than the 2014 iPhone 6. It’s mainly because consumers expect it to be only an incremental upgrade rather than a significant advancement over its predecessor. The markets are anticipating the 2017 iPhone 8 to be a major upgrade, marking the 10th anniversary of the iPhone.

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Major iPhone design overhaul expected in 2017

The new iPhone is set to arrive without a headphone jack. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are rumored to feature a touch-sensitive home button instead of a physical one. The Plus version will also get a dual-camera setup and 3GB RAM. Jackdaw Research analyst Jan Dawson believes Apple is keeping the design the same this year because it is working on bigger changes for the 2017 iPhone.

If the rumor mill is to be believed, the iPhone 8 will have a bezel-less OLED display that will make its front panel look like a single sheet of glass. The home button and other sensors will reportedly be embedded in the display itself. According to Strategy Analytics, the iPhone shipments in China are expected to decline about 20% to 21 million units in the second half of this year as a lot of people are choosing to wait for the iPhone 8.

iPhone 8 to feature iris scanner

The iPhone sales have been declining, and Apple will be under immense pressure to reverse the downward trend. According to supply chain leaks, the iPhone 8 would feature an iris scanner that will let users authenticate just by looking at the device. Taiwan-based Xintec is expected to supply the iris recognition chips for the 2017 iPhone. Xintec is set to begin mass production of its iris recognition chips in 2017.

If Apple manages to surprise consumers with the exciting new feature in iPhone 7, the company may get a section of those waiting for iPhone 8 to upgrade this year itself.